Axel was the embodiment of an international civil servant. During his 31 years with the United
Nations he served with distinction in Bonn, Athens and in Vienna, where he was based as former
Director of the United Nations Information Service.

His colleagues remember his sharp intellect, his charm and his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things
United Nations. The UN Information Service continued to draw on that knowledge long after Axel
retired.

Axel was the author of numerous articles and contributions to books on the United Nations and was a
lecturer on UN affairs at the Universities of Linz and Salzburg, Austria. He was also a member of
various professional associations such as the Foreign Policy and United Nations Association of
Austria, the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS), and the World Federation of
United Nations Associations (WFUNA).

All who knew him and worked with him in the Climate Change negotiations remember him with admiration
and fondness.